Yangervis Solarte last played in a Cactus League game on March 6. He went 2-for-4 with a double and, somewhat surprisingly, a steal; the Padres infielder is not known for his speed. Then, he departed camp to represent his native country in the World Baseball Classic.

In the days since, Solarte has received only one at-bat. He has scored a pair of runs, but his three appearances in games have been brief. In Venezuela’s 4-2 loss to the United States at Petco Park on Wednesday, Solarte entered in the eighth inning as a defensive replacement.

Thursday morning, Padres manager Andy Green expressed disappointment with the recent usage of one of his top players.

“The only frustrating part about the WBC is when you send one of your best players and they function just as a pinch-runner,” Green said. “I know he loves representing his country, loves being at Petco (Park) in front of the home fans. I know it’s been a tremendous opportunity for him.

“From my perspective, the guy’s probably going to hit third, fourth or fifth for us in the lineup, has had one at-bat in the last 10 days, he’s pinch-run twice. So that’s not exactly how you want to see your players utilized at this point in time in spring training. He’s going have to come back, get himself back into baseball shape. I know he’s been doing his work, taking ground balls, hitting, but it’s not game activity. He’s going to play with his country until the end and I hope it goes well for him, but he’s not getting a lot of opportunity.”

Solarte, who will start at either third base or second for the Padres, endured a difficult 2016 — he missed time with a hamstring injury and later lost his wife to cancer — but managed to put up career numbers. In 405 at-bats, he hit a team-leading .286 with 15 home runs.

On Venezuela’s loaded roster, he has been buried behind bigger names such as Jose Altuve, Rougned Odor and Martin Prado. Although Prado has left the Venezuelan team after sustaining a hamstring injury, Solarte was not in Thursday’s starting lineup against the Dominican Republic.

Later Thursday, Venezuela manager Omar Vizquel was asked if he’d been informed of Green’s comments.

“Yeah, I heard about it,” Vizquel told reporters. “There’s nothing we can do about it. We are trying to put the players there that got the opportunity to get some runs for us. I understand that Solarte also has the opportunity, but (it’s) the same case with Hernan Perez and sometimes (Odubel) Herrera.

“So it’s hard for one guy to get in the lineup sometimes. I can’t really bench Altuve and Odor or (Alcides) Escobar, who is playing really good. So I’ve been trying to keep (Solarte) sharp mentally, getting ready to play some defense at the end of the game and maybe pinch-runner. But that’s the way it goes. Sometimes some other players are not going to have a shot.”

Solarte played third base last season, but with Ryan Schimpf and Cory Spangenberg in camp, the Padres would like to take a look at Solarte as a second baseman. That, however, will have to wait until after Venezuela’s WBC run ends.

Padres General Manager A.J. Preller was diplomatic when asked about Solarte’s sparse usage.

“If a guy wants to go play, I think, as an organization, we’re going to be really supportive of it,” Preller said. “I think you have to understand they’re on teams with a lot of talented players, and ultimately it’s the manager’s prerogative who plays, how much they play, what the role is. I think you can have conversation leading up to (the tournament), but if the player wants to go and play, we’re going to be really supportive of it.”

Green said he recognized the unique nature of the WBC, a quadrennial tournament in which many countries, including Venezuela, are highly invested.

Vizquel, Green said, is “managing his team to do what’s best for his country … and they’ve got a lot of really good baseball players, so I wouldn’t question the way he’s utilizing his baseball players. But I think it’s an understandable frustration from a manager of a major league team’s perspective, if a guy pinch-runs and that’s all he does. Coming off a hamstring issue in the past, that’s an interesting utilization of him.”